For years, 88.9 WSTB has served as Streetsboro’s go-to radio station during emergencies. Now, that long-standing partnership is becoming official.
Streetsboro City Schools and the City of Streetsboro are moving to formalize their emergency communications relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that recognizes WSTB’s role in the city’s updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The agreement establishes shared responsibility for delivering timely, accurate information to residents during major emergencies or disasters.
The MOU was presented to the Streetsboro Board of Education (BOE) on March 12. Following board approval, Superintendent Cindy Deevers, BOE President Tracy Campbell and Treasurer Brian Haines signed the agreement on behalf of the district. It then went before the Streetsboro City Council on March 23 for final approval.
Streetsboro Fire Department Captain Kevin Grimm initiated the effort to formalize the partnership. Grimm wrote to the board members that the agreement “will strengthen our combined commitment to the citizens of Streetsboro to provide timely and accurate information during a major emergency or disaster.”
Grimm noted that WSTB has long been considered the city’s primary outlet for emergency information, though the relationship has never been formally documented. Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska supported making the partnership official as part of an update to the city’s EOP.
While WSTB serves as the primary outlet for emergency information, the city will continue to maintain relationships with all local media outlets, ensuring equal access to information for all media partners covering Streetsboro.
Streetsboro residents have relied on WSTB during some of the community’s most uncertain moments, from COVID-19 updates to the recent statewide weather emergency in January and a State Route 303 power line outage over the summer.
Located at Streetsboro High School, WSTB is a student-run academic broadcasting program that has been part of the district since 1972. Outside of playing alternative rock Monday through Saturday, and oldies on Sunday, the station recently added local news updates produced by students at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. on weekdays, in addition to their national NBC news every hour Monday through Saturday.
WSTB General Manager Corey Teuton stated “I am excited to continue building our relationship with the city and provide timely information to our listeners.” Grimm wrote that WSTB “has been, and remains, an important part of this community, more than a majority of our residents realize.”
The approved agreement marks the first time the partnership has been formally recognized in the city’s EOP.